


Why is Katara any different?

by Herroyalpinkishness



Category: Avatar (TV), Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Action/Adventure, F/M, Humor, Romance, Very slight gore, Zutara, mulan - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-02-15
Updated: 2016-04-19
Packaged: 2018-05-20 20:09:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,261
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6023113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Herroyalpinkishness/pseuds/Herroyalpinkishness
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A(nother) Mulan-inspired fic</p><p>The banished Prince Ozai’s plan to invade the Fire Nation threatens world security. So when Hakoda answers the call to duty despite being badly injured, Katara goes in his stead. </p><p>Keeping her identity a secret from the rest of the United Forces will be much harder than she ever expected.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

“Men, today we leave our homes for the world.”

 

 

 

_“Please don’t do this. Zuko’s your son.”_

 

_“Trust me darling, you’re the one who’s doing this to him, not me. You have a choice - kill Iroh and Azulon and Zuko lives. Don’t and well… Let’s just say I’m glad I don’t like the boy.”_

 

_“Ozai please, please, please,” Ursa sobbed “I can’t kill them, don’t make me do this.”_

 

_Ozai bent down to where she was curled up and leaning against the wall. He took her face, fingers biting into her jaw and turned her head to look at him. “Oh honey,” he crooned “You’re a murderer no matter what you choose”._

 

 

 

“We’ll face adversity and hard times, but come what may...”

 

 

 

_“It was His Majesty’s time, Prince Iroh,” Dr Iwamura bowed, “Even Mother Agni wouldn’t have been able to save him.”_

 

_“Nicely done, dear” Ozai hissed into Ursa’s ear, unheard by anyone else. She convulsed and leaned away from him where the Second Royal Family was standing at the foot of the bed. “One down, one more to go.”_

_Ursa gripped Zuko’s shoulder tighter_

 

 

 

“... we must keep in mind who the real enemy is”

 

 

 

A warm hand grabbed Ursa’s wrist. She gasped. Brown eyes snapped open.

 

_“You were responsible for Azulon too, weren’t you?” Normally soft eyes searched her, blazing. Ursa couldn't meet his gaze._

_“Weren’t you?” Iroh’s voice turned hard and demanding. The fingers around her wrist tightened, crushing delicate bones. Ursa’s mouth opened in a silent scream and she dropped her Dao sword._

_“I had to- he, he would have killed him. I had to save my son” she whispered, voice trembling._

_“Where is he?” Iroh rumbled._

_Ursa shakily pointed towards the door opposite Iroh’s bed. Iroh sat up and looked at it, as though expecting his brother to come charging in. A cool metal blade ghosted over the back of his neck._

_“I’m so sorry Iroh. Please, I never wanted to do this to you, you have to understand.” Ursa sobbed, clutching her other Dao sword tighter._

_“You don't have to do this,” Iroh said calmly, “Let me take care of you.”_

_“He’ll kill Zuko, he will. I don't have a choice.”_

_Iroh turned to look at her. Tears were silently streaming down her face despite the strong determination in the premature lines around her lips._

_“I can take care of Zuko too, Ursa. I can make it so he never hurts anyone of your family again. You just have to trust me.” Iroh looked straight into her anxious eyes._

_A breath._

 

 

 

“...We must remember who the real enemy is…”

 

 

 

_Ursa exited the Prince’s room._

_“It’s done.”_

_“See, that wasn’t so hard now was it?” Ozai said, strutting into the room to see a bloodied Iroh lying on the bed. He leaned closer to check for signs of life, when Iroh’s eyes opened and a flaming punch from a bandaged fist came toward his face. Ozai dodged it with centimeters to spare, and rallied with one of his own._

_“Traitor! Scoundrel!” Iroh bellowed while jumping to the ground, punctuating each slur with a flaming ball that crackled with blue around the edges_

_“Well what did you expect, Iroh?” Ozai screeched, “Did you really think I would simply sit around playing second fiddle to you for the rest of my life? I should have been heir! You are not worthy of the throne! You are too soft to do what needs to be done to protect the Fire Nation from outsiders - too weak, too spineless. I, however, am not. I alone will see the Fire Nation to greatness, with you out of the way.”_

_He consolidated all of Iroh’s attacks into a giant sphere of fire and sent it back to him. Iroh was blown back by the force of the attacks, hit the wall and crumpled to the ground, unconscious. Ozai turned to the doorway, where Ursa was watching their fight, shell-shocked. He stalked over to her and dragged her up against the doorframe by her neck._

_“Ursa darling,” he growled against the backdrop of her gagging, “you knew the terms of this arrangement from the start, now why,” his fingers tightened, “in Agni’s name would you go and ruin such a good thing, hmm? Tsk tsk tsk, you know what’ll happen now…”_

_“No. no, forgive me, I’m sorry, please don’t take this out on Zuko, he’s just a child - kill me instead, please!” Ursa choked out._

_“Why don’t we compromise, wifey dearest? I’ll kill you, and then, I’ll kill Zuko ---”_

_“No! No!”_

_“Too late! My mind’s already made up!” he sang. With that, he threw her bodily into Iroh’s room and lit the room on fire. He strode down to the hall to his son’s bedchambers amidst Ursa’s screams and burst open the doors._

_The bed was empty._

 

 

 

“... the dogs that rule the Fire Nation.”

 

 

 

_Zuko shot out from behind the doors, flameburst in hand. He relaxed upon seeing his father._

_“Father, who’s screaming-”_

_Zuko instinctively dodged the fire blast thrown directly at him and looked at his father in astonishment._

_They circled one another, each tracking the others’ slightest movements, Zuko more bewildered than his opponent._

_“I never liked you.” Ozai hissed, “You always took after that bitch - you had her weakness, her feebleness. Agni, you were more of a girl than your sister! You’re an embarrassment to me, the Royal Family and the Agni-damned Nation!” He threw a fireblast at his son at the end of his diatribe._

_“I’ll be glad to be rid of you”_

_Zuko jumped to avoid the fireblades at his feet and grabbed the Dao swords hanging on his wall. He instantly assumed a defensive stance. Ozai roared._

_“Even now, at the end of your existence, you can’t fight like a man of royal blood - it’s shameful!” Ozai charged at Zuko, lightning already brewing in his hands. Zuko again dodged the blows and swiped at his father’s legs with his swords. Although shallow, the slices in Ozai’s shins gave him more than enough pain. Ozai howled._

_“You’ll pay for that, dear son of mine!”_

_Ozai made Zuko lose his footing, bringing the fight to the ground. He wound his arm around his son’s neck._

_“Goodbye, Zuko. Close your eyes, son.” Ozai sneered, ignoring his son’s violent struggles to escape his chokehold. Ozai raised one fist, white-hot with blue sparks and sunk it into Zuko’s left eye._

_Zuko screamed and the smell of sizzling flesh filled the room. He shuddered and seized until finally, finally, he fell unconscious._

_Ozai grinned, raising his fist to do more when he felt the sting of a blade that told him that his left arm had been sliced open. He screamed._

_“It’s over, Ozai.” Iroh boomed, Ursa and Lu Ten standing at either side of Ozai, Dao and samurai swords respectively at his neck._

_“They are collectively ruining the nation with their ideas of subservience to inferior cultures. We must stop them from whoring out the nation we all have sworn to protect and love.”_

_“Kneel before your sovereign!” roared Firelord Iroh from behind the wall of fire in the throne room._

_The full court was present to hear the judgement of the disgraced Prince Ozai. The crowd hissed as soon as he was brought in. He was pushed to his knees by his guard, splitting open the delicate new skin that had formed over his wounds. Ozai had certainly seen better days, his face gaunt, sunken from days spent in the dungeons, framed by greasy, limp strands of hair. He looked at the floor._

_“The accused before us has been charged with high treason for the murder of Firelord Azulon, attempted murder of then Prince Iroh, spousal and child abuse. He has been found guilty of all 4 counts.” The court cheered, only a few supporters muttering darkly under their breath._

_Iroh held up a hand._

_“If this were any normal criminal, his or her head would already be rolling on the ground. However, Prince Ozai doesn’t fit these circumstances. He is a member of the royal family and it is against the Constitution of the Fire Nation for one family member to sentence another to death.”_

_Iroh’s tone softened, “In addition, I would like to begin my rule with more compassion and kindness than my predecessors, because the Fire Nation is in sore need of it and the only way to encourage such behavior is to exemplify it._

_“Hence, I hereby sentence Ozai Kasai of the Kasai Royal Family to banishment from the Fire Nation. He will be stripped of military rank, Royal Name and his claim to the throne. He will henceforth be known as Ozai Moemashita, Ozai the Burned.” Dark laughter rang around the room._

_“As a final act of mercy, I will provide him with a ship and crew to allow him to restart his life elsewhere in the world. Brother, there is nothing you can do to atone for the suffering you’ve caused your family but I can only hope that your absence helps them heal from your wounds. Take this chance to rebuild seriously, Former Prince Ozai. You may not have another.”_

_Ozai stiffened and looked up at Iroh’s words. He smirked as a gleam came back to his tan eyes._

_“Yes of course, your_ majesty _.”_

 

 

Ozai looked around at his crew: a mix of similarly disgraced ex-military outcasts.

 

“We’ve been exiled for what? Having ideas about how we should live our lives? Does that sound fair? Or just?” he roared at the crowd. They jeered.

 

“The only way for us to save our country to save our country, is to take it back! No more shitskinned people coming in through our backdoor! No more jobs lost to outsiders!”

 

The crew roared their approval.

 

“A chance to rebuild indeed,” Ozai grinned as he looked at the beginnings of his new guerrilla army.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What can I say? Call me Katto and a girl worth fighting for were so incredible that i just had to make my own version of the Mulan!Zutara AU. This one's gonna be slightly different, as I'm sure you've heard before. I loved the humour/lightness of a girl worth fighting for, but i also adored the grit and character development in Call me Katto, so this story will (try to) combine both!
> 
> WIKAD will be light-hearted and (hopefully) funny, keeping in line with Mulan’s tone. It’ll aim to explore the various forms of sexism in the various countries and give insight into characters and why they behave the way they do. I’m still struggling with how all the arcs come together and how the story ends for certain people, but I’ll get it eventually!
> 
> The prologue turned out unintentionally dark/heavy but i assure you that the rest of the story won't be!
> 
> This is my first story like ever, but please feel free to criticise and flame at the parts you don't like, because that's really the only way I'll learn!
> 
> Anyhow, thanks for reading and being interested! More updates soon to come <3
> 
> Keep up with updates on this story on my fanfic tumblr: keets97  
> Send your headcanons to my avatar HC tumblr: avataruniverseheadcanons  
> Keep up with me on my personal tumblr: keeets97


	2. Chapter 1

“Quiet and demure,  
Graceful, poised, and punctual,  
These make a good wife”

 

Katara muttered the haiku to herself while she brought out dishes from the kitchen into the dining area.

 

“Reracks Katawa, yoo’ll do fine” Sokka reassured her around more than a mouthful of jerky and seaweed soup.

 

“Sokka, we haven’t even prayed yet!” Kya and Katara exclaimed in identical disgust.

 

“Oh hush now,” Kanna fussed as she took her seat. She smiled at her darling grandson, “Our Sokka is a growing boy, he needs his food so he can grow big and strong!” she exclaimed, pinching his cheek.

 

“ ‘Cept the only thing he’ll be growing is a pot belly” Katara said under her breath as she took her place as well.

 

“What was that little sis?” Sokka asked, obliviously scooping more onto his plate.

 

“Nothing, Big Bro!” Katara sing-songed. Hakoda shot her a look from the head of the table and she grinned impishly back at him. He smiled softly and shook his head in mild disapproval. Kya brought the last dish of food in from the kitchen.

 

“Hakoda, would you like to lead us in prayer?” Kya said as she pulled out her chair and kissed her husband on the cheek.

 

“Alright everyone, let’s join our hands in worship,” Hakoda said. The family held the hands of those next to them and bowed their heads. Katara and Sokka held hands across the table.

 

“Tui and La, we thank the you for this delicious meal in front of us. By your grace, we are all fed. We pray for peace and wisdom as we start another day, for Sokka as he attends his first Council meeting, and Katara as she visits with the Matchmaker. May the children have success for their first steps into adulthood. As you have provided for us in the past, so may you sustain us throughout our lives. While we enjoy your gifts, may we never forget the needy and those in want.” Hakoda finished and looked up. “Alright, let’s eat!” he enthused, ladling food onto his plate as Sokka did the same.

 

Katara, Kya and Kanna respectfully waited until they were done, then started serving themselves.  
“So Dad, what’s on the agenda for today’s meeting?” Sokka asked.

 

“Well, the biggest development is the new Firelord’s proposal for international co-operation.” Hakoda sighed. “A large part of it is trade, but he’s also suggesting educational exchange opportunities between excellent Tribesmen and Fire nation students, which is all fine, but get this: he wants to form an ‘egalitarian’ international collaboration council so all the nations can work together on ‘issues of crises’ ” Hakoda sniffed.

 

“That doesn’t seem too bad” Sokka said warily, looking at his dad out of the corner of his eye. Katara listened attentively.

 

“Well, on the surface, of course not, but this council scheme is just another tactic for them to dominate international affairs. The last Firelord, d’you remember what he did to those Earth villages on the northern end of the Fire Nation?” Hakoda shook his head in disapproval. “Tsk, no. That’s not going to happen to the Southern Water Tribe.”

 

“Well,” Katara began tentatively, “the council may not be a completely bad idea - I mean think about it, the Fire Nation suggested the council’s delegates be equal in the first place, right? They’d be obligated to at least keep up appearances and hear out any grievances out, which I think would be useful. Before, without the council, negotiations aways only involved 2 parties — with the council, there’s more of a chance to form alliances with more nations on issues we deem important. With a bit of smart manoeuvring, countries can stop other aggressor countries jointly — the effects of our actions would be amplified.” Katara finished musing. Her eyes grew wide and she held her breath.

 

“Huh,” Hakoda said slowly, “I guess I just didn’t think of it that way. Y’know, you think one way for so long and it never occurs to you to think another way. Thanks Katara, I’ll be sure to bring that up at the meeting.”

 

Sokka looked at Katara pointedly and nodded towards their father. Katara swallowed.

 

“Actually Dad, I was wondering if, uh, I could maybe sit in on the meeting? And maybe, uh, present my own ideas?” She sputtered out.

 

The room grew silent and heavy.

 

Hakoda looked up from his plate. Kya and Kanna goggled at Katara. She set her eyes resolutely on her father.

 

“Katara, honey,” He began gently, “you know how it is. No women allowed at the meeting. I’ll be sure to mention that you came up with this idea all by yourself, though,” He said, noticing the way her shoulders slumped.

 

“It’s alright, Dad.” She said softly.

 

~~~

 

Katara threaded the final bead in her hair and put the finishing touches on her make up and looked at the woman who stared back at her.

 

The woman in the mirror had rouge blended into her high cheekbones and piercing blue eyes sharply lined with kohl. She had delicate dots of white paint above her eyes and darkened pink lips. The woman had half her hair in a bun parted in the middle with two beaded braids on either side of her face, leaving the rest to tumble past her shoulders. She was dressed in her country’s colours — a turquoise gown topped with a light blue parka and lined with white fur.

 

The woman in the mirror was beautiful.

 

The woman in the mirror was not her.

 

There was a knock on her door. Jolted out of her thoughts, Katara jumped and said “Come in!”.

 

Sokka opened the door, dressed in his finest robes with a sympathetic tilt to his mouth.

 

“Hey kid, I’m really sorry about what happened-"

 

“It’s ok, Sokka. We both knew it was a long shot.” Katara said, shrugging her shoulders and searching for anything else to talk about. Her eyes landed on his fancy robes and she smirked.

 

“Well well well look who’s a big boy now!” She ribbed.

 

Sokka, noticing the need for the change of subject, grinned and brushed imaginary dust off his robes.

 

“That’s right, ladies and gentlemen, the boy of the Imiq household has now become,” he paused for effect, “a man!”. He flexed as he finished his little speech.

 

“Why don’t you go outside and wait in the living room while me and dad load up your handicrafts into the sled? You wouldn’t wanna ruin your pwetty dwess now would you?” Sokka quipped.

 

Katara rolled her eyes and bumped him on the way out of her room. As she walked down the hallway, she looked at the walls she might soon have had to say goodbye to. The living room and dining room were covered in her family’s various achievements throughout the years. On the wall hung the head from Sokka’s first bear hunt next to Katara’s first ice ballet shoes and embroidery. Their home was comfortable and best of all, familiar. Katara couldn’t imagine leaving it for some stranger’s house.

 

Sokka poked his head in from the front entrance.

 

“Hurry up Katara! You’ll be late for the Matchmaker!”

 

Katara looked around once again and sighed.

 

“Coming!”

 

~~~

 

The matchmaker was not a pleasant woman. She had the plump face of someone who was wined and dined by the country’s elite and the extravagant robes to match. Katara had overheard that the matchmaker had thrown a girl out of her office just for sneezing. Katara shuddered and pulled herself together. Kya squeezed her knee in comfort while Kanna patted her on the back.

 

“Katara Imiq?” The matchmaker called into the room of potential brides

 

“Present!” Katara answered brightly.

 

The matchmaker pursed her lips and scribbled into her notebook. “Speaking without permission…”

 

“Oops” Katara cringed as she walked past the curtain.

 

Katara stood atop the platform to allow the Matchmaker to inspect her.

 

“Too skinny… not good for bearing sons” the Matchmaker murmurs to herself as she circled her client. Katara balked, then regained her composure, although her nostrils remained flared.

 

“Let’s have a look at your handicrafts then,” the Matchmaker sighed. They walked over to the table where her embroidery, carved knife handles and handmade pipes lay.

 

“Passable,” the matchmaker scoffed. She turned to Katara and signalled for her to sit on the cushion. Katara’s glare simmered down to a scowl.

 

“Now, pour the tea. To please your future in-laws, you must demonstrate a sense of dignity and refinement…” the matchmaker lectured. Katara rolled her eyes without noticing that the teacup was no longer giving off steam and presented the saucer to the matchmaker.

 

“Finally, something done well!” the matchmaker complimented, “I was beginning to think you didn’t excel at anything! Very graceful, if I may say so.” She smiled at Katara.

 

Too late, Katara saw that the tea had frozen solid.

 

“Um, could I just have that back? One moment — “ Katara grabbed for the cup.

 

“What - on earth!” the matchmaker looked incredulously at Katara as she pulled the teacup out of her reach. “If you would like some tea, you can pour some out for yourself!” She tsked and raised the cup to her lips.

 

The matchmaker squawked indignantly as her lips and tongue fused to the frozen block of tea.

 

“ Gek ik ochhhh!” She screeched, hands flailing about in a panic. The teacup had stuck resolutely to her mouth and was simply hanging off the matchmaker’s face as she worked herself into a frenzy.

 

“If you could just-" Katara tried to calm the Matchmaker down. The matchmaker continued to screech.

 

“Wait! I can fix it!” Katara said frantically following her out the door, clutching the teapot.

 

“Think it’s going well?” Kanna said dryly outside the office.

 

“Gek ik ochhhh!” the matchmaker shrieked again, outside the office. Katara rushed out behind her and bent the boiling hot tea onto the matchmaker. Embarrassed, she handed the teapot to the matchmaker and quickly walked toward Kya and Kanna.

 

The matchmaker, now red from equal parts anger and scalding tea, was a terrifying sight in her soaking robes and streaked make-up. She turned to Katara.

 

Katara gulped.

 

~~~

 

Katara pushed the door open to see Sokka and Hakoda lounging about on the couch. They turned to greet the women with warm smiles, but, humiliated, she turned back around and pushed past Kya and Kanna to go outside.

 

She faintly heard her family calling her name but her eyes stung too sharply and her face burned too hot to go back inside. She ran as fast as she could, until she could no longer hear her family anymore.

 

She only stopped when she ran out of breath. Hair in a disarray and surrounded by just snow and ice as far as she could see, she finally let herself crumple to the ground.

 

This isn’t supposed to be this hard, she thought to herself.

 

Being a woman isn’t hard for the other girls, why is it so hard for me?

 

Katara began gently bending the snow around her as she went through her favourite ice ballet  
routine. She was beauty and grace as she moved into arabesque and manipulated the water above her head, listening just to the music in her head.

 

Frustration took over, however, and her movements grew more forceful and sharp than she had intended. The mass of water she was bending slowly swelled to the point where she could no longer control it and it splashed down on her. She sighed and bent the excess water out of her hair and clothes.

 

“Tsk tsk, you could catch a cold, honey.” Kya chided from behind her.

 

“Mom!” Katara gasped, turning around.

 

“We were worried about you when you didn’t show up for dinner. You shouldn’t scare us like that.”

 

“I know, mom, I’m sorry.” Katara hung her head.

 

“Come inside, we’ll get you warm, alright sweetheart?”

 

Katara nodded and followed her mother home through the now-dusky tundra.

 

“About what happened with the matchmaker-”

 

“Mom, I don’t want to talk about it — “

 

“I was just going to say that nobody’s mad at you," Kya reassured.

 

“Really?” Katara’s voice picked up.

 

“Honestly. In this day and age, no woman under Southern Tribal law can be forced into a marriage against her will.” They had reached the house, and sat fireside to allow Katara to warm up

 

“But what she said about me, and never bringing pride to — “

 

“Oh, who cares what she says!” Kya scoffed, “She’s a crazy old bat with beliefs so out-of-date, they’re covered in cobwebs!”

 

Katara grinned, comforted by her mother’s abuse.

 

“Y’know,” Kya began conspiratorially, eyes twinkling in mischief,”when I was about your age, she threw me out of her office just for sneezing!”

 

Katara gasped incredulously. “That was you? Mom, that story’s a legend now!”

 

They both laughed heartily, then fell into a comfortable silence.

 

“Like mother, like daughter, huh?” Katara said dryly, smiling.

 

“That’s the spirit! See, you’ll never do something so terrible that you can’t laugh at yourself at the end of it all.” Kya said comfortingly, stroking her daughter’s hair.

 

“Even though I wasn’t the perfect woman, I still ended up alright, didn’t I? I ended up marrying your dad, having Sokka, and then you.” Kya consoled, “This isn’t the end of the world, ok honey?”

 

“Yeah, thanks mom.”

 

“You won’t have any trouble at all finding a husband. Look at you! You’re pretty, you’re a master healer and, you’re an amazing ballerina.”

 

“I guess, but…” Katara trailed off.

 

“Yeah, sweetheart?”

 

“Don’t you wish you could do more? Maybe like what Dad does? Having a voice in important issues and making decisions!” Katara blurted out.

 

“Well,” Kya hedged, “I’d say that everyone, man or woman, has a role to play in our world — and that those roles aren’t necessarily better or worse than the other.”

 

“I suppose…” Katara said doubtfully.

 

Kya carried on, “At least we don’t have it as bad as our Northern sisters. None of them get to pick who they marry and the lucky ones get to wait till they’re your age to wed. The not-so-lucky ones are married off as children or worse still, to men who beat them around.”

 

“Mom, don’t get me wrong, I know I’m lucky to be from the South, but just because they have it worse doesn’t mean we should accept what we’re given, does it?” Katara asked earnestly.

 

“Yes, you’re right, honey.” Kya conceded, clearly unconvinced. “Come on, let’s get you into bed.”

 

Katara dropped the subject for the time-being as they walked to her room. She changed into her sleep clothes and climbed into bed.

 

Kya smoothed the bedcovers around her and kissed her daughter on the forehead.

 

“I’m so sorry for how today unfolded, sweetheart. Tomorrow will be better, alright?” She soothed.

 

“Thanks, mom. Goodnight, don’t let the snow-critters bite.” Katara smiled contentedly.

 

Kya chuckled and repeated,”Goodnight, don’t let the snow-critters bite.” She blew out the candle in Katara’s room and closed the door.

 

Katara shifted in bed, more at peace with herself than she was at the beginning of the evening. The day’s troubles were far from her mind as her eyes lazily drew shut.

 

The snow falling gently outside her window had turned ever-so-slightly grey.

 

 _Weird_ , Katara thought right before her world turned dark with sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a month, hasn't it?
> 
> yeah. You can already tell I'm gonna be one of THOSE authors.
> 
> Yo, I really have no excuses - I'm on holiday, I have all the free time in the world, but it still took me an eon and a half to churn out this chapter.
> 
> Is it just me or does every writer feel like they've written more than they actually have? Bc it's like, I'll be on a roll and type a ton of stuff but then when i go back and read it again, all I've written is like a sentence.
> 
> sigh pies.
> 
> Also, I'm finding that it's way more difficult to write comedy than it is to write angst. Argh, like I have a good sense of humour, but I just don't know how to translate it when i write - if anyone has good resources, plsplspls send them over. I need halp!
> 
> Did anyone notice the little shoutout I did to the artist who did the whole dancebending art? Because I really hope you did, I absolutely loved those gifs and I couldn't not insert it into the story.
> 
> Gotta say, I really wish my writing was more fluid - right now I'm sticking to smallish, uncomplicated sentences and devices but I so badly want to be better - again if anyone's got any advice (or would like to beta) please do leave it in the comments or contact me via tumblr.
> 
> Ok, that's all for now, but I'd really like to get my next chapter up in less than 2 weeks by writing 300 words a day - here's hoping!
> 
> As always, thanks for reading and being interested in my story!
> 
> ~~~
> 
> Keep up with updates on this story on my fanfic tumblr: keets97writing  
> Send your headcanons to my avatar HC tumblr: avataruniverseheadcanons  
> Keep up with me on my personal tumblr: keeets97


	3. Chapter 2

“Welcome Prince Ozai, we weren’t expecting you.” Hakoda said unsmilingly. Katara and Sokka looked at one another. Kya placed her hands on her children’s shoulders.

 

Ozai held up a hand as he walked towards Hakoda. He stopped a distance away from Hakoda and gave the Firenation greeting, then straightened up and held his arm out to Hakoda. Hakoda closed the distance and grasped the other man’s forearm.

 

“Please, it’s Lord Ozai now.” Ozai said evenly. A member of his guard sniffed disdainfully behind him.

 

Hakoda’s eyes focused on Ozai sharply. “Apologies. The Firelord didn’t send word of your arrival. We are surprised to see you.”

 

He took off his headgear and shook loose his hair. He sighed and looked down. “I’ll explain my presence if there’s somewhere we can speak in private.” he angled.

 

Hakoda nodded stiffly, disapproval etched into every line of his face. “Please, we can convene in the Council hall to discuss further. My men will show you there.” Two water tribe warriors stepped forward and Hakoda and his family turned.

 

~~~

 

“Well, why not?” Katara fumed, “Sokka and Mom can go but I can’t? How is that fair?”

 

“Katara, you know why you can’t attend the meeting.” Hakoda soothed, only a trace of irritation in his tone.

 

“Well, it’s not like you’ve got any birthright to be at the meeting!” Katara sneered, “You’re just Mom’s consort.”

 

“Katara, enough!” Kya snapped from the vanity. “Your behaviour has been atrocious this morning.” Kya’s piercing blue eyes, so much like Katara’s, sharpened. “You’re to stay home with Kanna and that’s that.”

 

“Fine!” Katara yelled, storming from her parents’ room. She slammed her door and flopped onto the bed, still furious.

 

A while later, Kya entered her room with a soft knock to find Katara still brooding.

 

“Katara, we’re leaving,” Kya said, leaning against the doorframe. She was dressed in her formal robes, long and flowing, with her hair swept up into an elegant chignon

 

“Okay,” Katara said tonelessly.

 

Kya sighed. “Alright, bye-bye then. Love you,”

 

Katara rolled her eyes. “Love you too,” she said grimly.

 

“I know you don’t like the way things are now, but you just have to be patient, honey. It’s not going to happen overnight.” Kya reassured. Katara nodded resignedly. “Anyway, gran-gran’s taking a nap and when she’s awake, I’d like the two of you to start preparing dinner, alright?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Okay, bye sweetie. See you in a bit.” Kya swept out of the room.

 

Katara waited till she heard the front door slam shut and sat up.

 

She listened with bated breath until she no longer heard her family’s voices as they left the driveway.

 

Katara walked down the hall, footfalls no more than mere taps against the wood panelled floors, past Kanna’s room and into the living room. Peering out the window, she ascertained that her family, along with the family’s polar-bear dog had left. She dressed herself warmly in Sokka’s spare winterwear and tucked her hair back into a low wolf tail.

 

She bent water into the creaky hinges of the front door as she slipped out of the house and slid the hood of Sokka’s parka over her head. Keeping her head down against the icy polar winds, she stalked quickly down the row of igloos and headed to the very heart of the South Pole.

 

Although the insides of everyone’s homes were now made of imported stone and lined with wood to keep warm, the outsides were still covered in compacted snow and ice as an extra layer of insulation and as a nod to tradition. The south pole’s city centre was just that: at the centre of the south pole, with government buildings and business’ buildings built side-by-side. The Council Hall, a tall, imposing building loomed in front of Katara.

 

The Council Hall, too, was fortified with steel and stone to protect against enemies of the state, but Katara had long ago found an ice windowpane that had been missed when replacing all of them with glass. It was easy enough to remove the window high up on the wall, but not as much to get through the window itself.

 

Katara bent a series of small platforms in the outer wall as she stepped on each one to get to the window. She roughly bent the platforms back into the wall, gloved hands straining to keep her balance as she sat, one leg on either side. The wall didn’t look as smooth, but there was no time to perfect it.

 

“They’ll just think that the kids’ve been playing with it again,” Katara thought hopefully as she jumped off. Her landing was muted by the patch of snow she bent into the ground as she fell.

 

Katara stepped out of the snow and bent it back to ice. She followed the servants’ path to the Main Hall, on high alert for noises out of the ordinary. The voices of the delegation grew less muffled as she drew nearer to Main Hall. She stopped at the far end of the hallway when she saw that the curtain covering the servants’ quarters was short enough to reveal her legs if she got too close to it. She bent a ledge out of the corridor’s wall for her to get up on and watched the proceedings through the gap between the curtain and the doorway.

 

“... So you see my position, Chief Hakoda. I simply cannot let my brother sit on the throne.” Ozai said glibly, sitting opposite Hakoda at the slightly ovoid table.

 

“Lord Ozai, you must know that I am most sympathetic to your situation,” Hakoda said disingenuously, “Exiled, with just a navy vessel at your command and falsely accused of engineering your dear father’s death and being almost assassinated by your brother, it’s not something I would wish on my worst enemy.”

 

“However, I simply can’t imagine Iroh doing something like this.” Hakoda mused offhandedly. “Iroh always seemed so calm and peaceful during diplomatic meetings even before he decided to take on more royal duties. It seems unbelievable that he would do such terrible things.”

 

“Yes, well, my brother has shocked us all. So will you help me or not?” Ozai agreed, not quite as smooth as before. Katara took note of the way his shoulders tensed. Ozai’s second-in-command, ship captain and other assorted allies leaned forward.

 

“It’s so strange,” Hakoda persisted baldly, sitting back in his chair, “Iroh sent over a hawk detailing all the improvements he wished to make regarding relations between the four nations and trade and all that. You would think he’d’ve mentioned exiling his own brother, wouldn’t you?” Hakoda’s tone sharpened.

 

Sokka and Kya, sitting on his right and left respectively, fidgeted in their seats, ill at ease. Hakoda’s advisors, consisting of Tribe elders and trusted companions, looked at one another warily. The Tribe’s guards and benders shifted into a more grounded stance.

 

A hand clamped over Katara’s mouth.

 

~~~

 

“He did tell you.” Ozai surmised

 

“He did.” Hakoda said, ice cold. “He, however, told me a very different story. He said that you killed your father and attempted to kill him, injuring your son in the process.” Hakoda’s ice-blue eyes scrutinized Ozai. “And I have to admit, his story is a lot more convincing than yours - the second in line to the throne gets jealous, murders the Firelord and tries to do the same to the heir apparent, unsuccessfully and gets exiled.”

 

“Now, the question is, which story do I believe?” Hakoda said unsympathetically.

 

“Well, my brother might be a skilled storyteller, but he isn’t here, now is he?” Ozai countered desperately. “I am, and I’m asking for you to support me in righting a grave wrong.”

 

Hakoda looked at the man opposite him thoughtfully. A Fire Nation guard entered the hall, bowed, and strode to Ozai to give him a message in private.

 

Ozai’s face broke into a broad grin. “Bring her in.” he said in a low voice to the guard. He turned his smirk to Hakoda.

 

“It appears that you don’t need to believe me or my brother.”

 

The waterbenders shifted into a fighting stance, completely abandoning any semblance of diplomacy.

 

“You’re going to give me as many men and as many weapons as I need.”

 

Hakoda frowned. “And why’s that?”

 

At that moment, two Fire Nation guards dragged a struggling Katara into the Main Hall. Sokka grabbed his mother’s hand when she gasped in fear. Hakoda’s hands curled into fists.

 

Ozai relaxed into his seat and explained “My guards were patrolling the area and found that a glass window had been broken into, so, they decided to search the area.”

 

Katara cursed as she again tried to break free from her captors.

 

“Lo and behold, we found your precious daughter spying on us in the servant’s entryway.” Ozai bared his teeth at the Tribe Leaders. “Give me your best men and their undying loyalty, or I burn this country down to its ashes, and your daughter along with it.”

 

Katara sucked in a breath as she saw her father slump in defeat. Anger coursed through her body. She balled her hands into fists and sent sharp ice needles into the eyes of the guards masks. They stumbled back in pain, and in the resulting ruckus, she did the same to Ozai. He dodged the needles just in time, looking incredulously at Katara.

 

“Well Hakoda, I guess your daughter’s made your choice for you.” Ozai said, breathing heavily. He continued, growling, “Say goodbye to daddy’s little darling!” as he hurled a fireball at Katara. She managed to jump out of the way, leaving a waterbending guard to diffuse the attack.

 

“Katara, take your mother and leave! Now!” Hakoda roared, as he and Sokka unsheathed their swords. Katara felt her mother grab her by the wrist towards the exit. She let herself be pulled away and surveyed the scene.

 

The waterbenders among the council were fighting water with fire and the nonbenders were duelling either with swords or fists. Ozai was fighting off two waterbenders at once and barely breaking a sweat as he did.

 

Sokka and Hakoda were fending off the armed guard Ozai had brought with him, but they were struggling. Sokka had bitten off more than he could chew and was fighting a firebender and swordsman, several times missing either a blade or a firewhip just by a hair’s width. Hakoda, on the other hand, was faring much better. He’d already taken several guards out and was working on several more. However, a guard caught him by surprise. The guard swung his blade directly into Hakoda’s leg.

 

He screamed.

 

On instinct, Katara shot sharp-edged ice discs into the guard who did it. He stumbled back and fell, unconcious. Hakoda staggered to his feet and weakly swung his sword at oncoming opponents. Kya caught up with Katara again and tried to drag her towards the exit again.

 

The guard who had injured Hakoda stumbled unsteadily to his feet and lunged at Katara this time. Kya pushed her daughter out of the way.

 

The blade sunk into her abdomen and left exited her body covered in blood.

 

“Mom!” Katara yelled.

 

“Kya!” Hakoda shouted.

 

Katara dragged her mother into the servant’s entryway, leaving a stream of dark blood on the ground.

 

“Mom? Please, please stay with me.” Katara begged as she drew water from the walls.

 

Kya gasped, trying to breathe in air even as blood began to pool around her.

 

Katara pushed water in and out of her mother’s wound, trying desperately to knit together the damaged tissue.

 

“Katara…” Kya heaved, “It’s alright, baby.” she gripped Katara’s hand tightly.

 

Kya shifted her eyes to look at her daughter’s tear-filled ones.

 

“No it’s not, I can still heal you, I can.” Katara sobbed into her mother’s hand, already cold.

 

“You are an amazing, brilliant woman.” Kya said weakly, eyes still locked on her daughter’s, “I just know that you are destined for great things, so you can never give up on the things you want, okay sweetie?”

 

Katara nodded.

 

“Take care of your father and brother for me, alright?” Kya asked, tears beginning to leak out of her dimming eyes, “Tell them I love them and love them for me.”

 

Kya heaved her other hand up to Katara’s face.

 

“I love you too, Katara. So much.” Kya whispered, her eyes rolling back into her head.

 

Katara squeezed her eyes shut and held on, even after her mother’s body went limp.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pretty big twist there, huh? Y'all are gonna hate me for sure
> 
> This took way more than a month to post, I don't even know why. The next chapter will be up in 2 weeks - I already have a plan for it and stuff, so no worries there.  
> ~~~
> 
> Keep up with updates on this story on my fanfic tumblr: keets97writing  
> Send your headcanons to my avatar HC tumblr: avataruniverseheadcanons  
> Keep up with me on my personal tumblr: keeets97


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